Finding What You Weren't Looking For
by In-betweens
Summary: AU, FTL Regina never expected to find something she wasn't even looking for but sometimes those are the things most worth having. Written from the Femslash Day Prompt: HOW DO REGINA AND MALEFICENT MEET? -*-*-*-This is my take on how they met and a relationship that blossomed to be much more than friendship grew. Three-Shot Written in all three POVs.


**Title**: Finding What You Weren't Looking For  
**Author**: In-Betweens (aka inlove_n_inhate)  
**Plot**: AU, FTL Regina never expected to find something she wasn't even looking for. Written from the Femslash Day Prompt: HOW DO REGINA AND MALEFICENT MEET? -*-*-*-This is my take on how they met and a relationship that blossomed to be much more than friendship grew. Three-Shot Written in all three POVs.  
**Rated**: PG (for some bad language)  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own nor will I ever own the characters portrayed in this story that resemble the characters from Once Upon a Time or any other likenesses to characters from other fairytales.

* * *

**Part 1 of 3**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-****First Meeting****-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

_Calm. Your. Self. Calm yourself. CALMYOURSELF!  
_  
You whimper.  
You can't.  
Your heart races like a prized stallion galloping across an open field for the first time since winter.

It's dark in the forest and there are noises everywhere. Noises that you can't distinguish, noises that make your heart race and your palms sweat and tears fall from your eyes. They're the kind of noises that you read about in scary stories being told to the children around a fire by the older children trying to scare them. Except this isn't a story. This isn't their form of entertainment. This is real. You're lost in the middle of the Forbidden Forest without so much as a candle to light your way.

The overgrowth is thick and your shoes sink into the soft soil enough that your ankle is now covered in dirt. The rest of you is covered in dirt too. You've fallen flat on your face ruining your riding clothes the first two times you fell. You're not even sure how many times you've fallen to be honest. Not anymore.

You're sure to look a mess when you get home. Mother is going to ream you with her belt or a riding crop when you get home. You whimper again. Maybe it'd be better to stay lost.

Maybe…just maybe this is what was supposed to happen.  
Maybe you were meant to lose control of Darwin?  
Maybe he was supposed to bring you into this forest and then buck you off and take off, leaving you alone.  
Maybe…just maybe.

Maybe you're crazy and you should focus on trying to stay alive. That sounds like a better plan than thinking the fates have some sort of plan for you. That Darwin running you into the deep reaches of this Forbidden Forest was some divine plan. Your luck is never that good. It never has been. You can't even sneak a cookie before dinner without getting caught. Ever.

Sniffling, you press the back of your hand against your eyes to wipe away the tears that are blurring your already disadvantaged vision. You should have found shelter of some kind before darkness fell. You should have stayed by that cave and remained there hiding inside it's warmth. Now you're walking out in the open forest with who knows what's hunting you, watching you with their glowing eyes in the trees or in the brush their noses sniffing and lips snarling over white sharp teeth that will tear you apart. All because you were silly enough to lose control of your horse. Mother is going to be furious. She was furious while Darwin was carrying you away, almost like spiriting you someplace you were meant to be.

Not that you can really imagine being in the Forbidden Forest is someplace you're 'meant to be'. This is your luck. The one time you're spirited away, after years of praying for it, you're brought to the one place on earth you don't know how to survive in. You're the daughter of a miller and a Lady.

You do not live in the forest.  
You do not _rough_ it.

You've only been in the woods with your father twice in your life and that was when you were too young to remember the lessons he was trying to teach you. Since then it had been about having tea in the afternoon and having your lessons in proper Lady etiquette. You hardly ever get to ride your horses anymore with all the lessons Mother has you attending. And you know, deep down that the horses love you more than she does. They see you more than she ever will and they understand you with a knowledge your parents will never possess.

_At least Daddy tries…Mother will never care, ever. _

Hearing a twig snap somewhere off in the distance you freeze, your muscles frozen in fear, in terror as you stand absolutely still. You listen, trying to hear around the pounding in your ears. You can't hear anything but the wind blowing through the leaves of the trees and the sound of your own heart. Assured that nothing is going to jump out at you, just yet, you keep walking, slowly.

You've tried your best to keep to the lighted paths, where the leaves break enough to let the star and moonlight shine through the umbrella of nature. It hasn't always worked but you've been able to find your way well enough. Both of your knees are probably skinned from tripping over a stick and landing on an upturned root, but you're okay.

You are alive.  
You're breathing and you're still moving.

That has to count for something. Even if your beginning to think you made a wrong turn somewhere and should be heading in the other direction.

Finding a less ominous looking tree you make your way towards it. The roots around it are raised high enough that they reach your shoulders and create a sort of protective shield from the rest of the forest. You're tired. Too tired to keep walking and this tree with its roots will have to do for now. You have nothing better, nowhere else you can hide until morning. Sitting down in the hole at the base of the tree's trunk you pull your knees up to your chest and wrap your arms around them. Leaning your chin on your knee, the one that hurts the least, you close your eyes. The night air is cold and the wind whistles strangely in this hollowed out tree, but you're so tired your eyes fall closed anyway. You wouldn't try to open them again either. Too afraid that you'll open them and glowing eyes will be staring straight at you with sharp teeth as the animal salivates at finally having caught you.

The crack of a twig somewhere in front of you wakes you. Your heart pounds against your chest as your eyes open, cracking open really because there's gook all around them and every part of your body hurts and you just want to sleep. Why can't the predator just let you sleep? You were on your feet for hours upon hours walking around rough and uneven terrain. Blinking away the tears in your eyes at the pain consuming you, you see what's standing in front of you.

Something purple.

That's all you've got. That's all you can make out before whatever it is, has disappeared. The screech it let out almost sounds as if IT was more afraid of YOU then you are of IT.

Using the upper part of your forearm to wipe away the gook at your eyes—the rest of your arm and hands are covered in dirt—you crawl out from your hiding spot slowly. You look below the tree roots you'd picked to hide behind and you don't see anything. The sun is shining through the trees and lighting your immediate path.

There, in the dirt just in front of you are paw prints of some kind. They're not like any animal paw prints you've ever seen before and they're small, four of them so you know it's a four legged animal. You've studied different indentations that certain shoes have on your horses. It came in handy when you had to go looking for one of the yearlings that got out from the stables during a storm. It was how you were able to convince your father that the horse that looked like Magnite was Magnite. That poor salesman never saw it—your Mother—coming.

Swallowing thickly you slowly start to stand up. There are no further paw prints, not leading away anyway. You wonder how that could be. Had it jumped up into the trees? Thinking that it might have you snap your head up, a hand cupping over your eyes so you can look into the sun and…and…

"AHHHH…!" You scream and fall onto your backside. There almost a foot above you is some flying purple creature the size of a dog. The creature stops flapping its wings and falls from the sky. The wings move to cover its head—where you think it's ears might be—and lands in a poof of dirt two feet in front of you.

The ground shakes at the weight of the creature and you're ready to scream again when the purple winged creature blinks thrice, sees you, and squeals a beastly screech itself before jumping up into the air and flying away.

Sighing, glad that it flew away from you, you stand up and look around, carefully. The last thing you need is to run into a braver form of that creature. Deciding it would be a good idea to find something you can use as a weapon you pick up a two foot long stick. It's heavy but you can still carry it and swing it fast enough to defend yourself. With your new weapon in hand you decide it's time to find your way home. This adventure has been more than enough for you. You need to bathe and eat something.

Speaking of eating something…your stomach grumbles as if it has just realized that you haven't fed it since yesterday morning before your riding lesson. Sighing, you place your hand on it and pat it, as if it's an animal that can be soothed. It might as well be with the gurgles it's making.

"Fine, fine!" You growl, stomping your feet as you look around the forest for something to eat, something that won't kill you. With the sun up you're lighter on your feet and move swiftly, covering a lot of ground.

You mark the trees this time, so you know the places you have been and won't get turned around, like you most likely did last night. You also promise yourself to make camp somewhere protected before the sun goes down tonight. If you want to survive long enough for your father to come and find you, you need to be smarter about this.

Who cares if you're only ten years old and are lost in one of the most dangerous forests in this world? You need to survive. It would not be fitting for you to die so young. You have things you want to do, places you want to see, and things to do with your life. You are not meant to die here in the Forbidden Forest like some fool. You are no fool. You are your mother's daughter. You are meant for great things, your Daddy tells you so all the time. And your Daddy is many things, but a liar is not one of them, so you believe him.

Finding edible food isn't as easy as you thought it would be. It takes you several hours before you find berries that you know aren't poisonous. Another hour before you find a small stream that you practically dive towards. You wash your hands and then eagerly scoop up some water to drink. You're thirsty and you don't know when you'll get another chance to drink again. You have nothing to keep water stored in and you'll have to find another source on your way through this place. Taking this chance for what it is you kneel next to the stream and drink to your heart's content. Splashing the water back into the stream from your fingers you sigh, pressing your cold fingers against your forehead to help stem off the heat coming off of you in waves.

You feel something strange, like a prickling at the back of your neck. Slowly you open your eyes and turn to see what could be behind you. The sight of a snarling mouth of a grey wolf with red eyes leaves you frozen. It's staring _**right**_ at you. Its mouth open and teeth covered in white froth that drips down as it practically salivates as it looks at you, knowing it's found a meal. It's coiling its muscles and you try and reach for that stick you had, slowly, so as not to draw its attention. Once it's in your hand you wait. You can't outrun this wolf. There's no choice but to stand and fight. You're no coward. Gripping the stick tighter your hands shake. You're scared. Terrified.

The second the wolf moves so do you, even though it growls while you scream. You jump away and swing your stick up and then down. You connect with the wolf's head on the down stroke but you've only angered it. Pulling both of your arms back you swing again keeping the wolf away from you even as it growls and snaps at the stick and you.

You push back inch by inch with your feet, using both of your arms to swing the stick and keep the monster away from you. It grabs onto the stick and pulls on it. You try and keep it in your grasp, you even dig in your heels and pull to try and keep it away from the animal but you're not strong enough. It has the stick and it takes the time to break it in half. You don't wait to see that though. You run. You run and run and run and slip.

Groaning you watch, horrified, as the wolf sails right over you, the only reason you aren't under its weight because you tripped over something. Glaring you push up off of the ground and run again. You don't stop this time, weaving between the trees and jumping behind the bark of some of them. The wolf is right behind you, you can hear its feet crunching the leaves you just stepped on. You can feel it, almost like its right at your back breathing on you.

The clinch of something in both of your shoulders makes you scream as you try and turn around, the pain isn't unbearable, it's nothing compared to Mother's lashings, but it hurts and you're scared and the more you struggle the more the grip tightens.

You close your eyes and wait for the end, because you've been caught and you can't move and it hurts and…and…you realize your Daddy is a liar. You're not meant for great things because you're about to die at the hands of a stupid grey wolf. Sobbing you stop fighting. You stop moving. You stop thrashing because the more you thrash the more the claws grip into your shoulders.

It takes a while but when nothing happens, when you don't feel teeth sink into your neck or any part of your body or feel the claws rip down your shoulders and across your back, you're confused. Very confused. You open your eyes and what you see scares you more than this state of 'almost dead'.

You. Are. Flying.

Like, your feet are not on the ground. Your body is not grounded to earth. You are up in the air. Above the trees. Above the ground. Off the dirt and _in_ **the **_**air**_. Like you had wings. But you don't. So…what?

You reach up to your shoulders because something still has its claws in them and when you touch three sharp nails you swallow and look up. Above you, flapping its wings in a strained effort to keep the both of you in the air is the purple beast from before. The same one that flew away from you as just saved you from that wolf, but…why?

It's not like you can ask the creature why it has saved you. How it even knew you were in trouble—though it could have heard you screaming. The flapping gets faster and the down strokes are harder and harder pushing air across her face. Whatever had helped keep the creature in the air before is slowly fading because they're heading back towards the ground rather quickly. Closing your eyes when the ground is only a few feet beneath you, the second your feet touch ground the claws—talons—release you. You rush away right into the trunk of a nearby tree. You wrap your arms around it, and promise that you won't let it go. You are going to stay right where you are hugging this tree so that nothing can find you and nothing can take you back into the air.

"I like the ground, I like the ground, I like the ground." You chant over and over again, eyes squeezed shut. You smell maple, and figure the tree your hugging is a maple tree. You're sure to be covered in sap when you pull away but with everything else you're covered in that doesn't seem so bad.

"Why?"

"Why what?" You ask and stop talking as your eyes slowly open and you turn your head slowly. Sitting across from you is the purple creature. It has its head turned as it looks at you as if YOU are the strange. The unfamiliar, the outlandish. You are human. There are thousands of humans, hundreds of thousands of humans but in all your ten years you've only ever seen one flying purple creature that…

"You understand me?" …can talk.

You nod your head dumbly. The creature's mouth has not moved. Not once. How is it speaking?

"Oh that's so wonderful! It has been such a long time since I have spoken with anyone. My father disappeared some time ago and many of the creatures here in this forest are not very interested in conversation."

"Oh…?"

"You don't like to talk much either do you?" The voice sounds sad, very sad, and the way that the creatures face falls to the ground you realize, or are finally convinced, that IT really IS talking to you.

"I, uhh, uhm, I like to talk well enough." Your Mother would scold you for your utterance but you wonder: when has your mother ever been in this kind of situation before? Huh? _When_? Well when and if she is in this situation and she still holds her composure and her 'proper etiquette' then, and ONLY then can she scold you about muttering nonsense

"Oh good!" The head pops back up and you are reminded of a puppy the way the creatures wings open up and its tail—which you just realized it has—thumps on the ground twice. It doesn't move towards you though and for that you are thankful. "Why do you like the ground?"

"Uhh…because I don't have wings?" You ask it like it is a question.

"Well yes, I noticed that." It tilts its head to the side, studying you. "What are you exactly? You're very strange for a bipedal creature. Much like a monkey but without the fur."

"I am no monkey!"

"Yes, I know that. I eat monkeys." You blink, well yes then it is a good thing this creature knows you are not a monkey.

"Do you speak to monkeys too?"

The creature shakes its head a hissing sound that emits from it and in your head there is laughter, kind of like girlish giggles. The kind you used to make when you and your Daddy were playing hide and seek.

"Monkeys cannot speak…" The giggles continue. Then she lifts her head up and regards you seriously again. "At least not a language I am familiar with."

"So you don't want to eat me?" You ask your voice nothing more than a whisper.

"No…" It sounds a little fishy, since the creature drags it out. You raise your eyebrow like you've seen your Mother do when she wants you to admit that you've done something you shouldn't. You crack every time under that stare and that eyebrow. The creature twitches at your scrunched up face and hard stare, like it's getting uncomfortable. It looks sideways twice before it flays its front paws up in the air and buries its nose and head under her paws. "Alright…okay…so I thought about eating you. But you smelled good and then you woke up and you weren't an owl. I thought you were an overgrown owl!" The creature before looking at you with big misty red eyes.

You giggle, because it's the cutest thing you've ever seen. Even if it does have big teeth and sharp talons. "What are you…?"

"I'm me."

You roll your eyes because it feels appropriate to do so. "And _who are_ **you**?"

"Maleficent." It preens, standing up straight and…smiling?

"Oh." You whisper slowly releasing your hold on the tree.

"Who are you?"

"Lady Regina…"

"Oh." It copies you, because you're positive she has no idea how important being a 'Lady' really is.

It's quiet for a long time before you plop down at the base of the tree and sigh. Maleficent doesn't come near you but she too plops herself down on the ground and sighs, but her sigh is more like a snort and it's a lot stronger than yours so it makes dirt dust up into the air.

You smile, because you're not scared anymore and you feel safe and happy.

"What's a Lady?"

"I am." You copy her this time.

"Oh, but…what are you?"

"I'm a girl."

"And are all girls ladies?"

"Well, no. I mean, yes."

Maleficent tilts her head, as confused as you are.

You sigh, "I do not know what I mean really. I am a Lady because my Mother is a Lady, she is rich and powerful and proper. It is a title but it is also a description of women too. It's…well it's confusing."

"Yes, it sounds confusing and I know confusing because there was this one time that I was talking to a frog and he kept saying the same thing over and over again but meant something different each time. It was really hard to talk to him." Maleficent nods her head as if you understand her plight of talking to a confusing frog.

You giggle and shake your head because Maleficent is funny, even if she doesn't mean to be.

Maleficent frowns, her cheeks drawn in and her head downturned. If she had lips you imagine she would be pouting.

"Are you alright?" You ask, uncertain why Maleficent is so upset.

"You are laughing at me."

"No, I am laughing at your story."

Maleficent looks up and stares at you, unbelieving. "I swear. I think it is funny that you had to talk to a frog and he kept saying the same thing over and over again. I cannot talk to frogs. I only hear the croaking sounds they make when they are near."

"You cannot talk to frogs?" Maleficent sounds so surprised, as if this inability is unnatural.

"Well no. I cannot talk to animals."

Maleficent gasps, standing up on all four of her legs as she steps away from you. "What?" You ask, offended.

"You cannot talk to animals. You walk on two legs. You smell funny. You act like a monkey but you are not one…"

Your mouth falls open because you have never been so insulted in your life. "Yes, and?"

"You do not live in this Forest. You are one of…of…them…"

You look around, "THEM…who?"

"The outsiders."

"Who are the outsiders?" You ask, suddenly worried that your new friend might be your new enemy.

"The outsiders kill, they kill the animals and creatures of this Forest and they chop down the trees and burn them."

"Humans…"

Maleficent gasps and runs towards the tree farthest away from you in the small clearing. She runs, literally runs_** up**_ the tree, her talons keeping her on it as she moves to stand on top of one of the lowest branches. Even though it is the lowest branch you would never be able to get up there without help. She is safe from you even though you're not sure you are safe from her.

Maleficent hisses the word back at you, "Humans…"

"I am a human."

Maleficent hisses at you but this time she spits too and her spit sparks red and shoots out the smallest burst of flame you've seen. Shrinking away you pull your knees up to your chest again and stare uncertainly at Maleficent. You know what she is now. Only one creature you have ever heard of breathes fire, or spits it.

"I do not cut down trees or burn them or hunt animals. I raise horses with my parents." You weekly defend yourself, uncertain this will work in your favor. You do eat the meat from animals that others have killed and hunted but you have never done so yourself. Your mother forbids it. No daughter of hers would get her hands dirty hunting like a man.

"You do not kill animals?"

"NO. I…I got lost here. My horse, Darwin, hh-he got spo-oo-oked and he brought us in here, but he threw me of-ff-off and le-left me." You sniffle, crying, because this is all just too much. You're only ten years old and you're lost in the scariest forest even some of the bravest men won't enter. You've almost been killed by a wolf and are currently having a conversation with a dragon! For once in your life you're almost sad that you aren't at home listening to your mother prattle on and on about your duties and your future.

You don't see it, because you've looked away, but Maleficent must have gotten off the tree somehow because she's sitting right in front of you, pushing her nose against your chin. "Why are you crying?"

"Because!" You glare, you're angry because you're not supposed to be weak and scared and a coward like your Daddy. You're supposed to be strong and brave and sure, like your Mother. But...you can't be. "Because I'm lost, I'm hungry and I was almost eaten by a wolf! And now…now I'm going to get cooked by a baby dragon be-because I'm human and I'm not supposed to be scared. I'm not! I'm supposed to be brave but…but I just want to go home…"

"Cooked? Baby?" Maleficent huffs sitting down on her hind legs as she stares at you. "I'm not going to cook you."

"You're, you're not?" You ask, wiping the tears away from your cheeks with the back of your hand.

"No. But only if you don't call me a baby again."

"Well…how old are you?"

"Uhm…I don't know. But I'm not a baby!"

You chuckle, "No, I guess you are no baby."

"Babies are noisy and they cry and smell."

"You think everything smells."

"That's because everything DOES smell…"

You laugh and Maleficent stares at you oddly. "You keep laughing at me."

"Not at you, I just think you are funny." You smile.

"No one has told me I am funny."

"No one? Well, maybe only humans find your humor funny."

Maleficent absorbed that before nodding, seemingly happy enough to accept that as fact. "I have not met other humans before. The other animals say they are scary. You are not scary."

"I…I can be scary."

Maleficent's teeth showed, and you gasp and pull away even as you hear laughter that is not your own. "You are not scary. You are soft."

That sounded far too insulting to be a compliment, so you take offense. "I am not!" You cross your arms and huff, looking away from Maleficent as you do.

"Yes you are. Your skin is soft. _You_ are soft." As if to prove her point she pushes you a bit, making it seem so easy to just jostle you around like that with her paw, "You are not scary. Scary things are not soft."

You do not look at her. You won't. She has no idea what she is talking about. You are scary. You are not soft. Well, maybe you are. Just to test it you pinch your arm and wince. Okay, so maybe you ARE soft skinned, but that does not mean you cannot be scary. One day, one day you'll prove to Maleficent that you can be scary even if your skin is soft.

Maleficent notices you shiver and moves closer to you. She is the size of the dogs that protect Mr. Trent's sheep from the wolves. She's not big but if she stretches her tail out she would be longer. She nuzzles her head against your cheek, trying to get you to turn back to her. You don't. You're still angry. But it's getting colder and the sun is starting to get lower in the sky. Her purple scales are warm and so you snuggle up against her to stay warm. "I want to go home…"

"Why?"

"Because I want to see my Daddy again."

"Oh…" Maleficent sounds sad again and you wonder why. "Well I can help you get home. I know this Forest like the back of my head…" pause "…even though I can't really see the back of my head."

You chuckle again and lean your head against Maleficent's…well what you would imagine her shoulder to be. "I'm cold."

"I'm warm." You sigh heavily because naturally that was what Maleficent would say. "Come with me." Maleficent nudges your head and you look up, surprised that she's moving away from you and trotting/skipping or would it be considered hopping(?) towards the left. Her tail swaying from side to side as she moves farther and farther away from you by the second.

"Wait!" You call out as you jump up. "Where are we going?" You ask as you catch up with her. As you do you realize that walking beside her she is almost as tall as you are even though she's on all four of her legs. You wonder how tall she would be if she were human. What she would look like if she were human. What color hair would she have? What color eyes? Would her skin still be purple?

"Home." You snap out of your thoughts quickly.

"My home!" You ask excitedly, thinking for a second that Maleficent might know the way.

"No, _my_ home." She answers, looking at you funny before looking back towards the forest you both are walking further into.

"Oh, where is your home?"

"A cave. It is warm there. I warm the rocks with my breath to keep it warm for you. Then in the morning we will look for your home."

You smile and nod, because a warm cave protected by a dragon sounds better then sleeping inside the hollow of a tree trunk again.

Getting to the cave takes a long time. Mostly because you make Maleficent stop so you can grab some more berries you know you can eat and a drink from an even smaller stream then the one you found this morning. You're not full but you're not hungry anymore and Maleficent promises that there is a stream that runs into a small pool in her cave that she drinks from so there will be plenty of water.

When you get to the cave you're tired. Tired enough that you don't mind sleeping on the hard stone floor of the cave. Maleficent curls up next to you and lets you use one of her legs as your pillow while her body acts like a blanket. The heat from her body keeps you warm and the cave is giving off a soft red glow from the rocks she heated with her fire breath. She also mentioned that the glow makes sure no other animal tries to come in during the night while she's sleeping. Normally this would scare you and make you uncomfortable but today, today you're too tired to think about any of it. You're too tired to think about dragons being real and wolves trying to eat you and other animals trying to come and get you while you're sleeping. You're just too tired. So you sleep.

When you wake up you notice two things, hear three things, and realize one very scary fact. Maleficent is not by your side and you are cold. You hear Maleficent hissing and growling. Something is scraping against the floor of the cave and there are voices. That is when you realize that you are not alone. There is someone else in the cave with you besides Maleficent.

The sun is shining, or no, wait. That's not the sun. That's a torch. You're still tired and your eyes are heavy but you sit up and rub at them anyway so you can see what else is going on. Maleficent is in front of you, her tail straight and her back arched as she growls, snaps, and hisses at whatever it is that's holding the torch.

It isn't until you watch Maleficent jump into the air and knock into the thing holding the torch that you hear something familiar. You latch onto it because it's so familiar that you feel like crying. It's the sound of your Daddy 'ooffing' like he does when he trips or falls or pretends that her punch to the gut hurt him.

"Daddy?" You whisper and jump up, tripping over yourself as you do. You can see him now, and you're so happy to see him but so scared that Maleficent will hurt him you do what you have to do. "Daddy!" You be brave and stop her. "No, Maleficent, no!" You scream and dive on top of your dragon (friend's) back and wrap your arms around her neck so she doesn't do anything to hurt your Daddy. He loses what breath he did have in his lungs with the added weight of you on top of the dragon that is currently resting on top of his chest, keeping him down on the floor of the cave.

"He is a scary human. He here to burn and kill…" Maleficent whines, her talons out and pressed against the soft skin of your Daddy's neck as she looks at him. She hasn't set him on fire and hasn't bitten him though.

"No, he's not scary. He's my Daddy. He's a good human, a good man. He won't hurt me or you. He won't. He was just scared. He was just scared…" You whisper into Maleficent's ears and squeeze her a little tighter so she doesn't think about trying to hurt your Daddy.

Maleficent is not convinced but she does back up, taking you with her as you rest on her back. She snarls at your Daddy and he doesn't move, his eyes wide as he watches you.

"He come to take you from me. I do not want you to go. You have to stay with me. You are my friend. I do not want to be alone anymore."

You feel bad for Maleficent and the pain in her voice. You squeeze her in a hug this time and just hold her. She does not want you to leave her. "I will come back."

"You will?" Maleficent turns her head towards you but snaps it back towards Daddy when he moves towards the sword he'd already dropped and the torch beside it.

"I will, I promise. You won't lose me forever. Right Daddy?" You ask and he looks so confused but nods his head.

"Yes, yes, right, of course Regina, darling." He looks at you and then Maleficent. You don't understand why he still looks so scared.

"See, he'll let me come and visit you. You won't be alone anymore. I can still be your friend. But I have to go home."

Maleficent huffs but she lets you get off of her back and stand beside her. You brush your hand over her head and lean down to kiss her snout. "Thank you for saving me." You whisper and smile as her red eyes stare at you.

You are standing between Maleficent and your Daddy so when he reaches for his sword and his torch Maleficent has trouble getting around you. By the time she does your Daddy as already put the sword into its sheath and holds his hand out in a calming gesture. "I mean no harm. I thought…I thought you had hurt my daughter, my child. I just..." He doesn't know what to say but he swallows and bows his head, "Thank you for looking after my daughter. She is…everything in the world to me. I will make sure she will find you again. I know the way to this cave now. But she does not belong here. She is not old enough or wise enough to live in the forest, even with you looking out for her."

Maleficent glares, her teeth showing for most of your Daddy's speech but she isn't attacking him, and she's even sitting down to stare at him a bit softer like. As she does you notice your Daddy's shoulders relax as well and he sighs in relief.

"He cannot hear me." Maleficent tells you.

You gasp, "He cannot?"

"No."

"Oh, well, that's alright. I can hear you and he said I can come back. Right Daddy?"

"Yes, I will bring you here myself."

"See!" You're excited because this means that you'll be able to see Maleficent more than just this once. "My Daddy is many things but he is not a liar." You tell Maleficent proudly.

Maleficent relaxes, almost like your happiness has started to affect her as well. She stands up and her tail sways just a little, the menacing baby dragon is gone. Now she is just a cute baby dragon once again…even if she isn't such a baby after all.

Though you couldn't say for sure because you're not a baby anymore but you still run into your Daddy's arms and hug him and cry into his shoulder as if you were. Maleficent watches and then follows you and Daddy all the way to where there is a group of humans waiting for you. You can hear them and see the fires of their torches. Some of them are even calling out your name. A search party…just for you.

"I believe it is wiser for you to stay here." Your Daddy tells Maleficent.

You frown but watch as Maleficent slowly steps away from the voices as they grow louder and louder. She looks up at you and then towards the torches off in the distance.

"Goodbye, Lady Regina."

"Goodbye Maleficent." You lean down, because your Daddy has not let you down since he got his arms around you back in Maleficent's cave. "See you soon." You promise.

You watch as Maleficent stays where she is, hidden in the bushes, as your Daddy walks with you to the others. The closer you get the harder it is for you to make out Maleficent until you see nothing but her red eyes and then…then nothing. You sigh and rest your head on your Daddy's shoulder.

"I believe it would be best to keep your friend to yourself Regina."

"But why Daddy?"

"Because, my darling, there are only a special few who can hear the thoughts of dragons."

"Then I am special."

"You, my dear, you are very special. But people do not like what they do not understand. They fear it, and they do not act rationally when they are frightened. It is best if you not speak of your friend. Not even to your mother."

"But I don't understand why, Daddy."

He sighs, "One day you will. Until that day comes, promise me Regina. Promise me that you will only speak of your friend with me."

"Her name is Maleficent." You tell him, cranky and upset that you won't be able to tell even your Mother about your adventures with a dragon.

"Promise me…" He insists.

"Fine…" You sigh knowing you have lost and you will do anything for your Daddy. He never asks you for much. "I promise."

You make it back to the search party. Your Mother is there and she seems almost happy to see you, which is odd because you are sure that she would be mad at you. However she rushes to you and your Daddy and holds you both as she cries. She is happy that you are alive and that Daddy found you.

You get to go home with them and sleep in your own bed. With the dawn of the morrow there is a promise of adventures yet to come and a friendship you are sure will be the talk of legends for years to come.

**End Part One**

**First Meeting (2****nd**** Person)**: Regina-10 Maleficent-12  
**Another First Meeting (1****st**** Person):** Regina-18 Maleficent-20  
**Last Meeting (3****rd**** Person):** Regina-19 Maleficent-21


End file.
